With digital solutions transforming and imporving operations in lime plants, the MOSAICO intelligent platform has proven to be a game changer for maintenance and operatios

1. The digital lime plant
With digital solutions transforming and improving operations in lime plants, the MOSAICO
Intelligent Platform has proved to be a game changer for maintenance and operations.
n by Dr Carlo Cello, Dr Francesco Cella and Edoardo Cella, QualiCal, Italy
1LIME PLANTS
OCTOBER 2017 INTERNATIONAL CEMENT REVIEW
Parallel flow regenerative (PFR)
technology is the best solution for the
calcination process in vertical lime kilns.
It assures lower production costs and
simplified maintenance and operation.
PFR kiln technology has remained largely
unchanged since its invention in the 1960s,
but the industrial internet has proved to be
a game changer.
MOSAICO Intelligent Platform, the
industrial internet platform for the
lime industry, intelligently transforms
operational data into actionable
information, accessible anywhere and
anytime. It delivers contents and drives
actions based on equipment, location
and people. MOSAICO brings together
connected machines, advanced sensors
and controllers, and software for optimised
performance. It provides analysis,
visualisation and reporting capabilities.
Harnessing the triple potential of
1) sensors and connectivity, 2) smart-
machines and 3) industrial big data and
analytics, customers can now:
• optimise assets
• optimise operations
• realise the ‘power of one per cent’, as
small outcomes can drive big changes in
performance and operative margins.
The challenge
QualiCal was tasked with squeezing every
single percentage of operative margin from
a QualiCal PFR kiln installed for the Calcis
Group, Germany, by:
• reducing unplanned downtime
• optimising maintenance costs
• introducing smart maintenance.
Calcis required a tool that its service
manager could use for maintenance
scheduling, follow-up and communication
with technicians at other plants in
Germany. The tool also needed to provide
technical support to simplify and speed up
the execution of maintenance activities.
The solution
The development and implementation of
the ZERO App, embedded in the MOSAICO
Intelligent Platform on the QualiCal PFR
kiln, leverages the power of cloud storage
and computing, connecting QualiCal plants
worldwide together.
Through MOSAICO, information from
plants is continuously collected, monitored
and analysed in real-time. Maintenance
managers can access information directly
from a mobile device to monitor the
performance of each plant from anywhere
in the world, enabling them to instruct
maintenance teams without actually
having to be present on site.
The ability to compare information from
different plants helps identify best process
settings, as well as anticipate breakdowns
and failures, meaning the plant operates at
peak performance levels.
Technicians are also able to use the
system to their advantage. With a mobile
device they can check which activities
Transforming and improving operations in lime plants through digital solutions
MOSAICO zero workflow
©Copyright Tradeship Publications Ltd 2017

2. 2 LIME PLANTS
INTERNATIONAL CEMENT REVIEW OCTOBER 2017
#QualiCal - The LIME industrial
Company that’s also a digital
Company
QualiCal mix decades of experience
building innovative industrial machines
for LIME industry with effective data
science and analytics expertise.
#LIMEglobalbrain
—LIME magazine 4.0
The purpose of this publication is to share
worldwide knowledge and experiences
between people involved in LIME industry,
paying particular attention to the technical
solutions adopted for quicklime and
hydrated lime production.
have been assigned to them, access the
documentation necessary to complete the
task (eg, maintenance manual, required
tools, video instructions and group chats)
and offer feedback simply through a tablet
connected to the cloud.
ZERO™ Workflow
The customer, and everyone involved in
maintenance operations, can move away
from the traditional
hardcopy maintenance
plan to a digital and
dynamic format. This
brings a number of
advantages, the first
being that the most
up-to-date revisions are
available to everyone.
Secondly, maintenance
tasks can be created
through Thunder
Notification, which
are sent directly from
equipment where
anomalies are detected
through sensors, or
by investigating the
Unplanned Downtime Cost Impact Report
where the service manager can identify
equipment that needs priority attention.
Based on the type of anomaly, a task
will be assigned to mechanical or electrical
personnel, or to an operator. At this point,
the technicians in question will receive
daily notifications regarding the pending
activities that need to be addressed.Once
the technician is ready to undertake the
task, they will be able to access all the
information needed to complete the job
successfully: ie, maintenance manual,
required tools and Qualitwit™ for technical
support. Once the task is completed, the
technician can ‘close’ the activity, noting
whether the issue has been solved, and
inserting notes and comments required by
the maintenance manager.
Results
Through ZERO™ it has been possible to
increase maintenance efficiency and,
in general, overall plant availability by
minimising unplanned stoppages and the
time required to restart operations after a
failure. Its key feature is an advanced and
automatic maintenance task schedule,
a tool which allows plant personnel to
easily follow the progress of maintenance
operations and enable technicians to focus
on the job in-hand. The working day can
be managed more effectively, maximising
productivity. Moreover, this simplified
approach to maintenance means
emergencies can be handled without
the maintenance manager having to be
present on site. n
ZeroTM
workflow